Travel Like a Pro on Your Next Disneyland Trip

I think it is probably a universal thing that happens among travel agents that we book deeply researched, incredibly detailed, thoughtfully designed trips for our clients and sometimes when it comes to our own trips we absolutely just wing it and hope for the best.

I have once again done this with a recent family Disneyland trip. When planning anything Disney I always encourage people who come to me for help to plan way in advance, booking hotels out as far as possible and making dining reservations as soon as availability comes online.

However, I took myself plus 6 other people to the Disneyland resort in Anaheim earlier this month and we were debating which days to go and trying to work around everyone’s schedules until we landed on dates less than 2 weeks before we traveled. There were no rooms available at the Disneyland Hotel. There were no rooms available at Pixar Place. There were no dining reservations available at any of the hotels for the night that we arrived. In the end it all came together and we had a great time, but as a professional travel advisor, I have to encourage my friends and readers to do as I say and not as I do!

Traveling like a Pro means booking your personal trips using the methods a travel professional uses to plan and execute trips for their clients.

And, as I said above, it did all work out. We had a fun group dinner at Splitsville on the night we arrived and those of us who are of legal drinking age had cocktails at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. We stayed at a Good Neighbor hotel directly across Harbor Boulevard from the main park entrance. We arrived in the park each day just about at rope drop. With the lightning lane pass we were able to ride almost everything we were hoping for.

But if a client had come to me asking for a Disneyland booking, these are the steps I would have taken to ensure a smooth trip that met all of the goals stated during our initial planning phase.

The key with a Disneyland trip or any Disney vacation is having plenty of lead time. If possible, start working on it months or even a year in advance. This ensures that there is plenty of room availability at all of the hotels whether on property or not. It also allows you to get in early for dining reservations, especially if there are any character dining options that your client wants to book.

Research your hotels. Know the pros and cons of staying on the property versus off the property at a neighboring hotel. Someone may come to me knowing where they want to stay, but more often than not they are not sure why they should stay on the proprty or which hotel would work best for their needs. Sift through the options, make a list of your top choices and then look at pricing. What amount of money can you live with?

Think about how you will get around. If you are flying in you will need to plan your transfer from airport to hotel and back again. What options are available? Are you renting a car? If you are staying at a hotel 1/2 a mile or more from the park entrance, how will you get back an forth each day? Is there a shuttle?

Create a timeline that works for you. How many days are you spending in the park? Are you park hopping or doing one park per day? Do you want any extra pool or shopping days loaded on the front or back end?

In the end, here is how our recent itinerary looked:

Day 1: Arrive in Anaheim for Our Disneyland Trip

9:40 AM – Depart from home
2:00 PM – Stop for gas and realize we are not going to make our 6:00 pm dinner reservation. Call the restaurant.
6:10 PM – Arrive at Best Western Park Place Inn – Mini Suites.
7:00 PM – Dinner at Splitsville
9:00 PM – Drinks at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar

Day 2: Start at Disneyland

8:00 AM – Pass through Disneyland gates.
8:15 AM – Immediately book a lightning lane ride and then head to Space Mountain for our first ride of the day.
10:00 AM Breakfast and fun drinks in Galaxy’s Edge
1:00 PM – Park hop and have lunch in California Adventure.
7:00 PM – Back over to Disneyland to finish out the day

Day 3: Start at California Adventure

8:30 AM – Running late for rope drop, pass through DCA gates.
8:45 AM – Book lightning lane for Radiator Springs Racers and head to Web Slingers for first ride of the day.
9:45 AM – Starbucks
1:00 PM – Park hop and corn dog at Little Red Wagon.
4:00 PM – Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (waited 2 days and through a canceled lightning lane reservation)
5:00 PM – Hotel to change out of wet clothes and rest
8:00 PM – California Adventure for one last ride on Radiator Springs Racers using single rider line.
8:45 PM – Park hop to ride Indiana Jones and finish out the day.

Day 4: Shopping in Downtown Disney and Depart Anaheim

9:00 AM – Suitcases packed up, head to Downtown Disney for coffee, food and shopping.
12:00 PM – Depart Anaheim

We’re already thinking about how we’ll organize our days on our next Disneyland trip. We’re considering doing one park per day next time, which we have never done in the Anaheim parks but I think it would be fun to have an extra day and a slower pace.

For your personal trip, remember – do your research, start early, consider your transportation carefully and most importantly, have fun!

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